Distancing with Alpacas

Hold Tight

Gregor had bought our grandchildren vouchers for a walk with some alpacas as a Christmas present. The problem was they had to travel 400 miles to claim their present and, with Covid interruptions, it was almost 7 months before they could rein in their present. We all went along, any excuse to get out is grabbed with glee.  On the first week since re-opening, the local Alpaca Centre was heaving and in the large barn containing 30 or so alpacas and the same number of people, there was a practical demonstration of how not to do social distancing. I retreated outside as soon as possible.

Alpacas are easy-going sociable animals and about twenty of them were sent out with children supposedly walking them on their leads. In practice, the alpacas were as desperate to get out after lockdown as people and being pack animals they trotted along dragging nervy children on the 2 metres of rope lead. It meant that parents had to take the leads and hold them by a knot only 50 centimetres from the head, an easy spitting distance for the alpacas as we found out. We walked them around a mile or so on the fertile grassland on the peat soil of Flanders Moss. 

The alpacas had just been sheared by a New Zealander so were better groomed than most of the people attending the centre whose hairstyles made them look as if they had just escaped the 1970s. Alpaca wool is the strongest of any animal with four times the insulation property of sheep wool. The owner of the centre had not been able to sell the wool because of Covid restrictions so was using it to insulate a house that he was building on the site.

As well as newly born alpacas called crias, the centre also hosts llamas, geese, owls and rabbits, providing a curious menagerie for the children. Noah's Ark it wasn't, they came in sixes and sevens and there was no group isolation. Visitors could mingle with them in a picnic field where the tables were well distanced although the nearby cafe was still closed. Family bubbles waltzed around the field in unruly formations with children and animals in trepidation of each other. We had had enough and left to visit the viewing tower on Flanders Moss. On a grey summer's day, it provided some relaxation and social distancing after the chaotic experience of the Alpaca Centre. Compared to the well-thought-out distancing arrangements in most shops we have visited, the tourist attractions and the hospitality sector will have to make far greater efforts than this to keep their customers safe.

A stroll on the Moss

Spot the offspring

Mother and Cria

An Inflation of Alpacas 

A bio-secure bubble of folk escaping lockdown

Flanders Moss- looking north

The Great Escape: Ben Lawers

Looking East from Ben Lawers summit to An Stuc and Meall Garbh

Monday, 6 July 2020

Ascent:        1288 metres
Distance:     10 kilometres
Time:           3 hours 40 minutes

Beinn Ghlas      1103m    1hr 22mins
Ben Lawers       1214m    1hr 58mins

After 15 weeks we were finally allowed to escape to the hills from 3 July. It was surprising that it has been delayed so long, more gregarious sports such as golf, tennis and fishing had been allowed for weeks. If ever there was an activity that guarantees social isolation it would be hill walking. I held off for a couple of days to avoid the heavy downpours and I was anxious not to aggravate my knee that I had twisted 4 weeks ago when running. I had rested as much as possible but still had pangs of pain when gardening. Gregor phoned and persuaded me to seize the day and we decided that the Ben Lawers ridge would meet both our needs. There are good but steep rocky paths and over 1000 metres of climbing. It would be a good test of my knee and allow me to begin recovering some fitness. I have normally climbed the main ridge, sometimes including the two outliers to the north. I would attempt just Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers, whilst Gregor would climb the five munros on the main ridge.

It was strange to be driving north of Balquidder for the first time this year, I have usually made about ten trips north by July. The visibility was excellent with most hills visible although Ben Lawers was capped by cloud. We reached the new car park on the steep road that snakes over to Glen Lyon and found the last parking place in the large car park. The ticket machine for parking only takes coins and I have not had any of those since March, all transactions have been by card. We were not going to let that ruin the day so we began our walk, or in Gregor's case, run in windy conditions at 10:15. We agreed that I would pick him up at 3pm, on the main road alongside Loch Tay, he would have to cover 22 kilometres and about 1500 metres of ascent

It is ten years since I last climbed these hills and I was pleasantly surprised by the impressive exit from the new car park through carved stones, notice boards and then a fenced section with a gravelled path for the first half a kilometre. I let Gregor off the leash and tried to settle into a steady pace. There were three people with two dogs behind me and I kept a constant distance ahead of them. This I managed for half an hour including a section after the gradient ratchets up after the gate above the old shielings. By 800 metres it was time to dig out hat and gloves as the strong northwesterly winds gave no inkling that this was summer. It gave me chance to speak to the walkers following me, two young women from Glasgow had a dog that must have been caged for the last 15 weeks given its hyperactive movements up and down the hill. They had both been furloughed and were to return to work in the next week, they were fairly positive about the lockdown, it had given them time to enjoy an unofficial sabbatical and they felt better for it.

Approaching the summit I was surprised to meet two mountain bikers, they were attempting to descend through the rock field below the summit, which they described as the crux. They had to abort, possibly to avoid taking me out, but they were happy to be on the hills again and admitted that their skills and nerves had been suppressed by the lockdown. I took five minutes at the summit to eat some food and recover from the climb. It is an easy drop down to the bealach below Ben Lawers. From here it was a lung-bursting 220-metre climb through rock bands to reach the summit, I was clearly not fit. A trig point is perched precariously on an unstable base, it competes with a stone cairn for bragging rights as the high point. There were about ten people and four dogs sheltering behind the rocks and having lunch. Social distancing was in force. Gregor texted me, he had already got over An Stuc and we brought forward our meeting time to 2:30pm.

I began the descent in the knowledge that my knee had been fine so far but it was jarring from the descent that would be the real test. The return to the bealach was taken carefully and then I took the path that contours below Beinn Ghlas, it was less steep and soft ground so it became possible to walk at a faster pace. I passed three Polish walkers who had left the summit shortly after I arrived, the man had two almost full bottles hanging from his rucksack with what looked like limes in the bottles, I asked if it was vodka and was told no its water and kiwi fruit and no I couldn't have any. I upped my pace again after Gregor sent me another text saying he had completed his last hill. I charged down to the car stopping only to explain the route to the summit to a man who was taking his ten-year-old on a walk. They were flagging and he asked how much further, I told him that he might make it in an hour and a quarter if he had regular fix of chocolate for the boy who was flaked out on the grass.

The car park had overflowed and there must have been twenty extra vehicles parked on the grass verges of the single track road. I changed shoes and drove to Craggantoul on the A827 where Gregor was waiting, he had run the last 7 kilometres from Meall Greig and we were 45 minutes ahead of our original schedule. The sun was out and we both felt reinvigorated by a day on the hills. Driving through Killin, we saw Kieran Jenkins of Channel 4 News filming by the bridge and then saw people drinking outside the Falls of Dochart Inn. We stopped and ordered a couple of pints of shandy on the first day of outdoor drinking, I had a friendly chat with the Channel 4 producer complimenting her on the fine coverage of the pandemic and the diversity of the news teams. We walked across the road and drank our beer on the rocks overlooking the falls, Gregor told me that he had been the house captain of Dochart House at school, something I had never known before. We enjoyed half an hour in the sun but still made it home by 3:30pm and my knee still feels fine.

The initial path above the water intake

On the ascent to Beinn Ghlas

Ben Lawers from Beinn Ghlas

Ben Lawers precarious Trig Point

Looking west over Beinn Ghlas from Ben Lawers

An Stuc and Meall Garbh

Killin Dochart Falls

First Pint for 3 months outside the Falls of Dochart Inn, Killin

COVID: The Centre Cannot Hold

Comparison of G7 countries during the pandemic

The failures of the UK Government to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic have been the subject of many articles and TV programmes ever since we were one of the last European countries to introduce a lockdown on 23 March. The Sunday Times, The Lancet, BMJ, Public Health, and the previous Chief Scientific Adviser have not held back in their critique of the delays, the flawed procurement, abandoned track and tracing, abysmal testing record, failure to protect care homes and carers, and the deliberate absence of transparency by the government.

The government has always tried to shield itself behind the mantra of "following scientific advice". Many news agencies worldwide have highlighted how the UK, a country that was expected to be amongst the best prepared to suppress the pandemic, has failed on so many counts. The number of deaths is the highest in Europe and the G7 countries and the death rate remains the second-highest in the world.

But we know all of this, it has been the playlist of the last few weeks, and now, even the BBC, which has allowed the government to peddle its slanted narrative, is beginning to acknowledge the appalling mistakes made before and during the pandemic. The real issue is that the UK government, the civil service, and the other grand panjandrums of the state are overly centralised. They lack operational experience, detailed knowledge of services, and the emotional intelligence of practitioners who work at the local or regional level.

Unlike the majority of the press and media who display the political allegiances of their owners when reporting, the BBC, ITN, and newspapers such as The Guardian and FT have a considerable international online presence and aspire to provide an independent and objective reporting of events. But they are all part of the hubble-bubble of influencers, the metropolitan elite, and self-opinionated insiders in reporting and blaming for the crisis. They are too socially distanced from the real world, where the pandemic has taken hold and where it will be checked.

Local government, including public health, embedded local businesses, and active communities, have the insider advantage over the centralised government. They understand the nuances of geography and operational networks. They have informed and immediate intelligence, and, most of all, a genuine commitment to resolving problems. They also have the energy, personnel, institutional knowledge, and determination to implement actions that will make a difference. It's just that they are not trusted by the central government and not understood by the fandango of government agencies and fellow travellers. It is a measure of the government's lack of self-awareness that has resulted in the UK being the world leader in failing to control the pandemic.

As the country opens up after lockdown, we are still left without an effective track and trace system and the UK government insists that it will call the shots to impose local lockdowns. Surely the more effective outcomes in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales should tell them that the centre cannot hold. The government must accept that local knowledge and networks are far more relevant to suppressing the pandemic than continuing with its impotent posturing. The perpetual failure of the PM, his discredited cabinet and special advisers are culpable for how they have created a broken Britain.

A Bankrupt Government in mind and money.

Covid Cavaliers

"Your whole mind is occupied by a seething anxiety that things are going to go badly because il principle, or whatever little worshipfulness is in charge today, is not very good at the base business of thinking." Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

I pulled Wolf Hall out of the bookshelves. I needed something to while away the hours and the book has been lavished with universal praise as the best book of the 21st century. The intrigue and callousness in the court of the Tudors reminded me of our present government's attempts to obtain a divorce from the EU and its serial failures to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. It's just that Hilary Mantel would have written a far better script and the actors would have been so much better. Boris Johnson lacks the zealousness of Henry VIII and Dominic Cummings is far less cunning than Thomas Cromwell.

We are in week 12 of lockdown and as the story of how the government and its advisers have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic begins to emerge it confirms all our fears of gross incompetence and a total absence of operational management experience. The cabinet is totally lacking any minister with serious knowledge or ethical principles that are essential in dealing with events of this kind. It does not stop them acting with impunity and throwing money at initiatives that could have been scripted for Only Fools and Horses.

 

The Health Minister, Matt Hancock, seems to be in his element as he surfs the airwaves behaving like the great redeemer. His insatiable ability to twist the truth and bring in friends and donors to help with the procurement of PPE has been flabbergasting.  The stockpiles of PPE should have been maintained by his predecessor Jeremy Hunt several years ago. Hancock and Sunak's involvement in creating and then allowing ministers to use a fast track for willy-nilly contracts for equipment will not end well. And how could Hancock appoint someone with a CV like Dido Harding to be let loose with a Test and Trace budget of £22bn. Her track record in management is woeful with her greatest hits including the scandal at Talk Talk when it lost the personal details of 3m customers and letting the Cheltenham Races proceed and escalate the spread of Covid. Don't hold your breath for Test and Trace to be a success. 

Rishi Sunak is doling out the money from the Money Tree that Theresa May never found, Whilst the speed of his response has been impressive, I am far less certain that he has thought it through. There will be many thousands of Del Boys in the city and MPs' friends and associates who take the money and run, I doubt the taxpayers will ever see it again. I also fear that the inquiry into Johnson's Covid omnishambles will not see the light of day anytime before the next General Election.

Fact-checking whatever happened will require the involvement of the BBC and other institutions that are more transparent than the government and the phalanx of organisations and regulators that it controls but The mendacity of this abysmal government seems to have no limits.

When Matt met Dido

The UK Government's response to Covid 19

Our Top Table for Responding to the Covid 19 pandemic

The critique of the UK government's response to the Covid pandemic has gathered a fact-shaming momentum as we discover daily about the delays, the lack of transparency, the abuse of statistics and the failure to act in a timely and appropriate way. The government is still trying to convince a now sceptical public that we have world-beating systems, scientists, and solutions. True, we are world-beating in terms of the number of deaths, and the lack of PPE, testing and tracing. Comparisons with New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan, not to mention most developing countries have made us a laughing stock of our former EU partners. The government meanwhile responds by suggesting that there will be a comprehensive inquiry once this is over. It is ever thus, and we know from the still gestating Grenfell Inquiry, all the reports over the past dozen or so years on Community Care and Racial Discrimination that after a lengthy period of government prevarication that the outcomes of these inquiries are seldom worth a hill of beans.

Five weeks ago during a Zoom catch-up with four former colleagues, we were lamenting the litany of mistakes made by the government in responding to the Covid pandemic. We had all had extensive experience of coping with emergencies and we decided to put together a paper for publication. The way these things work it took a couple of weeks before we had a final paper and already some of the arguments we were making had been picked up by various journalists and practitioners and published in the press or been expounded on TV programmes. The journal that normally publishes our papers has a long lead time, and in a fast-moving crisis like Covid, the article was passing its read-by date and attempts to have it published elsewhere have so far not materialised. I have copied it below for posterity.

‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold’, Governance in the post-COVID World

In what has seemed like the blink of an eye, our public services and the people who work in them, public administration and governments have had to radically re-orientate themselves and their businesses to face up to the threat to life and society presented by COVID-19. In recent weeks, the Westminster Government and the devolved administrations have had to take entirely unprecedented steps to fundamentally reshape social and personal behaviour for the good of all, to shore up the economy,and protect economic well being of individuals.

And in the midst of all of this, the preparedness, the speed of response, and the capability of central government has been severely tested, and has been found wanting by many professionals, academics and citizens.

So what does this tell us about the way we run and govern our public services and administration? If one of the most significant responsibilities of government is to protect its citizens and keep them safe, what has gone wrong? And in the particular case of this emergency, after so many years of planning, training, and investment in assessing and mitigating risks of exactly this nature, how could our response have been so stuttering and flat-footed?

We believe much has to do with the relationship that has developed between central government and the rest of the public polity, and the level of regard and mutuality which exists in that relationship. We believe that ironically, in the years since devolution and the creation of governments and administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK and its constituent nations have become more centralised in decision-making and engagement, not less so. We believe that the huge potential of devolution, of dispersing power and widening engagement across geographies and into communities, has not been recognised or realised, and our system of governance is much weaker for that reason.

Strong central control in government can indeed work, but history shows that it very rarely flourishes. Ultimately, the truth is, in the words of WB Yeats in his poem ‘The Second Coming’, the centre cannot hold, and things will fall apart. In our current emergency, we have seen that the initial UK consensus on fighting COVID is already fracturing. On the easing of lockdown restrictions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are now on different paths to the policy being followed in England. New points of difference are emerging on the re-opening of schools, and they will occur again on the issue of social gatherings, and the opening up of workplaces and entertainment venues.

But this should not be seen as a threat. Public policy decisions should reflect local priorities, characteristics and circumstances, and the devolved administrations are well-placed to make these decisions.

Questions may be asked about the adequacy, or indeed, the existence, of a coherent, clear UK post-COVID response strategy. But the question is not whether the devolved administrations are right to chart their own paths: the question should be how can that principle of devolution be further extended - the so-called ‘subsidiarity’ principle - to local government. Not only would this allow the tailoring of policy and delivery to meet local circumstances, but a unified, strategic alliance of UK, devolved and local governments would offer up expertise, a labour resource, and a knowledge exchange far over that which the UK Government can offer by going it alone.

Above all, the time is right for this to happen. We are about to enter the recovery phase of the pandemic. Local authorities are well used to being called upon to take the lead in recovery after emergency events. In the management of most serious emergencies, there comes a time when responsibility is handed over from the Police services to local authorities, so the they can coordinate and deal with the tasks of repair, rebuilding and healing.

Local authorities take the lead in working with local health authorities, local housing associations, local businesses, local communities and voluntary organisations. They are better placed to solve the multitude of problems that occur uniquely in different areas – providing local solutions to local problems, and mobilising local communities. We have learned time and time again that during the recovery phase, local planning and local delivery solve local problems, providing as it does scope for local innovations which centrally determined alternatives and directives cannot.

Preparations should be being made now for the assumption of local control of the recovery phase, led by local authorities and their local partner organisations. This means making sure that these public sector and voluntary bodies are properly resourced to do the job. It means local authorities being charged to engage with communities, and help them to build their resilience and readiness to deal with what comes next in restoring post-COVID world that may be very different to our previous experiences.

In Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, our politicians need to recognise and acknowledge the power of local diversity and local initiative. They need to focus on setting out a clear national strategy. They need to relinquish some control and allow local initiative and real operational experience to build a safe, post-COVID world based on good knowledge and local evidence. But much needs to change to allow this to happen. We are advocating that action needs to be taken in the following areas:


· There needs to be a strong, clear UK strategy to provide a context and framework for regional and local action plans;

· New relationships are required between public bodies and local communities, where communities are enabled to take responsibility for services at the most local level;

· New functional relationships are needed with local businesses, which recognise the financial investment and human resources that businesses have in local and regional economies, and which change decision-making processes accordingly;

· Within public bodies, new, flexible relationships are needed so that staff can move freely from agency to agency. But also from agencies into the community, lending technical skills and expertise to help create stronger and more able community structures. More radically from communities into agencies and back again, allowing community activists to acquire knowledge and experience which can be applied in their communities,

· Revamped democratic structures and processes are required, based on a more participative principle of democracy, including e-democracy, and an openness to engagement through activism and partnership;

· The expectations of central government and its institutions need to change: the proliferation of local solutions, locally designed and commissioned, and inevitably diverse, needs to be encouraged and facilitated, not resisted.

In the final analysis, as we look towards what a post-COVID society might look like, and how it will have to behave, we need to put our trust in cooperation and collaboration. Our collective experience of in public service tells us that, with the right support, we can depend on the irrepressible good sense, good intentions and good humour of local communities throughout the land. If we forget this, we are lost. The secret will be to respect and trust them, and to give them the tools, resources and confidence they need to do the job.

A Bamboozler and a Cockwomble

Bamboozler (noun) – A person who deceives or gets the better of people by trickery, flattery, hoodwinking, pulling the wool over someone's eyes, or the like.

Cockwomble (noun) – A person, usually male, prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or inappropriate behaviour while generally having a very high opinion of his own wisdom and importance.

World-beating porkies

Sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth are fake news folk 

PM Johnson announced in May that we would have a 'world-beating test and trace system' by the start of June. We discovered on Wednesday that it will not now be ready until September. On the same day, 3 June, his alma mater, Oxford University showed that there were 359 deaths in the UK  compared with 332 in the remaining 27 countries in Europe. He bamboozled MPs and the media by insisting that "he remains proud of the government's response to coronavirus".

In the United States, the backlash following the murder of George Floyd and the USA reaching 100,000 deaths through COVID received no immediate response from the king of the tweets. He subsequently ordered the police and national guard to clear demonstrators using tear gas and rubber bullets so that he could walk to the St John's Church and fondle a Bible as a prop for a photoshoot. As my Australian cousin said, "What a Cockwomble". As well as millions of American citizens, two former Generals, his Defense Secretary, a Republican Senator, and the Bishop of Washington have all denounced President Trump for being prepared to order the police to suppress demonstrations by mainly peaceful protesters to allow him to wallow in an act of fake Christianity against the backdrop of the President's church.

It would appear that the chickens are coming home to roost for the Bamboozler and Cockwomble.  They have both lived charmed lives bolstered by their inheritance, enormous egos, craven contempt for facts and an ability to wing it in an era when knowledge and collaboration with others have been semaphored as a weakness to those most damaged by austerity and inequality. How much longer will they be able to hang on to their egos? I know there's an answer.

American Carnage

Twin City carnage

"This American carnage stops right here and stops right now." Donald Trump Inauguration Speech, 20 January 2017.

Fake news is what he would call it if delivered by any other commentator but as the stench of the fires and fury following the Minneapolis murder percolate through the United States, there is that moment when the citizens of America can finally say, "Gotcha".

Like many others, I had doubted that someone with such a loose understanding of ethics and so lacking in humanity or empathy as Donald Trump could survive more than two years. I also hoped that the damage he wreaked might be possible to rectify, although not by Vice President Mike Pence. The United States still had a reputation as "the land of the free", although its failure to address inequalities, the dominant force of its global corporations, its interference in foreign affairs, and the sale of weapons to autocratic regimes were all corroding the goodwill from many nations. Trump's time in office has simply turbo charged these characteristics and the increasingly dysfunctional constitution has made America not 'Great Again' but generated an antipathy from citizens around the world as well as undermining global institutions such as the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In the years since Trump's election, I have been gratified by that noblest of gestures by many Americans that I have met in the UK or when on holiday in France and Italy. They have apologised for their President and spoken with a refreshing frankness about the rancour that exists in their beloved country. I feel privileged to have enjoyed its remarkable landscapes and witnessed the scale of human endeavour in the States but it is not somewhere that I would contemplate visiting again as it trashes its environment, violates the dignity of many of its citizens, encourages more firearms and worships Mammon, whilst hiding behind a mask of Christianity.

As ever, the hope for some restitution lies in the good sense of many of its states, cities and counties when they are empowered to act independently from the behemoths of the American Constitution. Many of them have shown an understanding of Coronavirus that eludes the warped mindset of the President and his followers. In the past we have been assured that the American Constitution would provide the checks on the power of the President; that myth has been exploded by President Trump. It is time to eliminate the stranglehold of Corporate America and their lobbyists who have furloughed democracy by bankrolling the elections of the President, Congress and Senate. This charade of sponsored federal elections demeans and diminishes the democratic rights of its citizens.

Apocalypse Now in Minneapolis

Islands Peak Race 1990

Captain Eric

In 1990, I had arranged for the annual UK Council NALGO-sponsored cross-country championship to come to Scotland for the first time. I was the chair of Strathclyde Runners, a Council club for the 100,000 employees, and we organised half a dozen events each year. The UK Council championship was held in Strathclyde Park with the reception and prize-giving at the Strathclyde Offices in Hamilton. The Council Convenor, Bill Perry, was to provide some hospitality, and as always, he was delighted to support the Running Club in its ventures. 

We surprised ourselves by winning the team prize against several hundred runners from Councils all over the UK. Keith Adams, a roads engineer who had recently joined SRC, had been in the team and approached me afterwards to ask if I would be interested in competing in the Island Three Peaks race with him. Keith was a committed hill runner and had competed in the event on three previous occasions. He lent me a video to explain the nature of the event, which was pretty full-on.

The race involves yachts with 3 sailors and 2 runners. It starts in Oban with a 5-mile run before a Le Mans-style dinghy race from the north beach to the yachts, a sail down the Sound of Mull to Salen, a 19-mile run to Ben More and back, followed by a long overnight sail to Jura past the Corrievreckin to Craighouse, the start for an 18-mile run around the Paps of Jura. This is followed by a long sail down and around the Mull of Kintyre to the Isle of Arran, where a final 20-mile run to Brodick and Goat Fell and back before the final sprint by the yachts across the Firth of Clyde to Troon. It normally takes two to three days, depending on the winds and tides, as well as the navigation of the yachts and the masochism of the runners. It involves about 12 hours of running over 60 miles of running and 10,000 feet of ascent.

I watched the video with growing anxiety. I had run five marathons and four mountain marathons and had recently started climbing the munros so I had some experience, but this was at a different level. I explained to Keith that he would be better supported if he could find another victim, but he was fairly insistent that I could manage it. Never being one to refuse a challenge, I signed up. I was in reasonable shape, but arranged a few longer hill runs with Keith and Matt Ogston, another hill running friend, who was also competing in the race. We had an 18-mile run from Aberfoyle to Ben Lomond and back one evening after work, and I also managed a PB and what would have been a Strava Crown for my regular run up Lime Craig. Two weekends before the race, John and I caught an evening train from Crianlarich to Fersit and did an overnight walk to Fort William over the Easains and Grey Corries to build up my hill stamina and get some experience of night navigation.

The weekend of the race saw Keith, Matt, and me board the Oban train on Friday afternoon. Keith and I stayed at the house of Eric Chapman, the skipper of Seasmoke of Lorne, a 27-foot yacht that was one of the smallest in the race. Eric was the Commodore of the Oban Yacht Club and had competed in the race before and knew the sea conditions well. The two other crew members were from Edinburgh and had sailed with Keith on his previous Island Peaks races.

It was a grey Friday as the race began at midday on the sound of a gun for a 5-mile road run along the Sound of Kerrera and back. Keith and I were reasonably well-matched. I was the faster road runner; we climbed at a similar pace, but he was faster on the descents and over rougher ground, when I was more cautious because of a broken leg held together by titanium screws. We finished the leg at Oban's north beach, where we jumped into our dinghy to be rowed out to the yacht. We had made good time and were in the first ten out of the 56 starting teams. I had paced Keith; we wanted to make a decent time to gain clean air for the yacht, but not to tire us too much, given that we had 19 miles of running on Mull ahead of us.

We lost quite a few places to the larger yachts and catamarans sailing up the Sound in a steady breeze and berthed at Salen just after 5pm. We were straight into the run behind Jack Maitland and Alan Farningham, who were to win the race. We also had Christine Menhennet and Helen Diamantides for company, two formidable hill runners who Keith knew from his hill running club. We made a good pace along the 6 kilometres of road from Salen pier to Loch Ba. We stopped here to change into hill running shoes, which lost us a couple of minutes, and the girls had almost caught us as we set off again. It was a slog up the east ridge of A' Chioch, and we contoured below the top to find the steep rocky ridge to the summit of Ben More.

After checking in at the summit, we started the 4-kilometre descent to Dhiseig on Loch na Keal. It was turning into a lovely summer evening with spectacular views. We lost some time to other runners and at the burn by the road as we changed back to road shoes and took some water and food before beginning the long 9 miles back to Salen Pier. Helen and Christine had overtaken us whilst we were changing shoes; they were relentless. I took over the pacing, and by Scarisdale Wood, we had caught and passed them. We were back in Salen in under 4 hours, twenty minutes faster than Keith's previous best time. As we climbed aboard the yacht, we were told that a curry was awaiting us and there were cans of lager if we wanted. I did, and after a feed and some rehydration, we settled down in the bunks for the long sail back down the Sound of Mull and the Firth of Lorne. The wind had died somewhat, so there was little keeling over to disturb our sleep.

We awoke with the yacht becalmed, and for most of Saturday, we made slow progress down to the jetty in Jura. There was some movement passing the Gulf of Corryvreckan. At first, we thought the slow progress would help in that we would have an afternoon run up the Paps of Jura and then be able to sleep as the yacht sailed down and round the Mull of Kintyre. We then began to realise that we may end up in the dark on the Paps. The good news was that it was dry and a reasonably pleasant day. We eventually arrived at Craighouse at about 7pm.

The evening was benign, and although this was the shortest leg at 18 miles, it involved the most climbing over some pretty rough ground with little in the way of paths to help. We ran the first couple of miles from Craighouse and then changed into hill shoes for the climb up the three Paps. The evening just got better and better. By the time we reached the first summit, Beinn a' Chaolais, we were treated to scintillating sea views. We had made good time, and both of us seemed to be going well as we descended 300 metres and then began another 350-metre climb to Beinn an Oir. The official photographer was posed halfway up the craggy ridge, and as we passed him and looked out to sea, I remember thinking that this was probably one of the best moments in my life. I was as fit as I had ever been, travelling fast over tough terrain in the most beautiful wild landscape with a spectacular sunset over the sea.

There was no time for admiring the views from the summit, just another 300-metre descent and climb to the final Pap, Beinn Shiantaidh. The light was fading fast as we headed off the summit to the south and dark for the 6-kilometre run back to the road. We changed shoes and began the final twenty minutes of running back to the jetty at Craighouse. We hollered across to the yacht so they could send a dinghy over to collect us. It was after 11pm and had taken over 4 hours, but it had been a successful run, and the welcome we got from the crew on the yacht was positive;  we had performed better than they had ever expected. 

A night breeze had struck up, so as we fell into the bunks, the yacht was making good progress.  We expected to have sailed around the Mull of Kintyre by the morning. However, it is a 60-kilometre sail, and we were still approaching the point in the morning as the wind began to fade again. By late morning, we were becalmed, and the oars came out. We made a valiant effort, all of us doing spells rowing. As we were one of the smaller boats, it was relatively easier to row than on the catamarans and larger yachts. Keith and I took our turns and spent much of the afternoon rowing. We overtook Helen and Christine, who were in a speedy catamaran and had got a long way ahead of us on the previous sailing leg to Jura.

It was almost dark when we arrived in Lamlash, and before we began the path up Goatfell, there were a good 7 miles of running to Brodick. This was my sort of running, and we overhauled two other teams of runners on the way through Brodick. The good path meant that there were no real navigation problems on the ascent of Goat Fell, but the descent in the dark on a steep rocky path had me struggling to keep pace with Keith. On reaching the lower slopes, I took over, and I hammered it all back to the boat, overtaking another two sets of runners, one with three runners. It was just coming light as we reached the yacht to the absolute delight of the crew. We had cranked our way up to seventh place. Eric was ecstatic and had the yacht flying across the Firth of Clyde with all sails fully tightened. We sailed into Troon Harbour at about 7am in sixth place in one of the smallest boats. 

We had exceeded all our expectations and were afflicted by that magical feeling of knowing that, as a team, we had performed to the very maximum. The best small boat, and Keith and I had beaten some very good hill runners in the process. I won the best newcomer prize. We had some breakfast and bade farewell to the sailors before Keith and I caught the train back to Glasgow. I made it to the office for 9:00am after a fairly tough weekend. My colleagues in the office were not impressed when I took a wash in the toilets to refresh myself after the weekend's sweat and aches, and then carried on as if it was a normal day.

That afternoon, I did something quite unusual: I sneaked off at 4pm; flexitime allowed this, and I was home for 5 pm for some food and an early night. The children had made a card for me. I really did feel invincible but truly knackered.

Leaving Oban Bay

Keith is doing his morning exercises in the Sound of Luing

Becalmed approaching Jura

Eight hours of rowing in shifts

Rowing up to Arran

Passing Ailsa Craig

What Now after Covid?

Who knows how or when this will end? Badly, yes and Bigly too. I have been working with some former colleagues producing a paper on the need for mutuality and localism to be the key values as we try to rebuild, or more likely, reinvent our communities. The prospects are grim for the economy. Millions of people have lost their jobs and thousands of businesses have lost their customers or are left with obsolete products or services. But like the banking crisis of a decade ago, there is the danger that government will put the protection of its funders and their lobbyists first.

As well as the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland setting their own timetable for how and when lockdown should be eased, the northern cities and towns are beginning to challenge the confusing proposals emerging from the government. There is also a clamour from workers and businesses to be engaged in drawing up proposals so that they have a stake in how to safeguard workers as the economy reopens. The lack of transparency of decision making so far has been mendacious and has destroyed the trust in the government. Simply saying that "we are following the science" no longer convinces a sceptical public who are reading and hearing the said scientists challenging the government's blandishments.

Leaving aside the issue of easing lockdown, there are some far more significant issues that will need to be tackled as the estimated deficit in the UK is now running at over £337bn for the year. It is estimated that the GDP could collapse by as much as 25%, which is ten times higher than ever previously recorded. Already the debate has begun about the possibility of further public expenditure cuts or tax increases across the board. Promises of "we will do whatever it takes to beat the pandemic" are beginning to sound like unfulfilled pledges as many businesses and councils are now discovering.

At the same time there is a realisation by people that the improvement in air quality, a reduction in noise levels, the elimination of traffic congestion, kindness and mutual aid in local communities and more friendly, caring and respectful personal relationships are worth keeping. This is one of those rare epoch moments when massive change in how we live is possible. There is a strong desire to avoid reverting to 'normal ways' and to reap the harvest of new ways of working, learning, travelling and socialising that have been sown during the lockdown. Putting the quality of life, health and wellbeing above the pursuit of money, material possessions and status, aspirations that have dominated groupthink in recent decades, could be the long term prize in the search for a happier and less fretful society.

The Prize

Commuting without vehicle pollution

Another main cause of pollution

There have been a number of developments during lockdown that will hopefully survive and thrive in a post Covid epoch.

• Working from home or a local hub that provides workspaces and the tools of conviviality.
• Communicating and meetings online, saving unnecessary journeys and time.
• Commuting less often and at more flexible times.
• Learning online for children and students as part of a wider syllabus that requires face to face contact.
• More engagement, management and mutual aid by communities.
• Greater health awareness.
• Online shopping and deliveries.
• Less dependency on fossil fuels through commuting and travel reductions and a switch to e-bikes and e-vehicles and that should include buses and delivery vans
• Production and consumption of more locally produced food through local delivery networks
• The kindness of strangers
• Debasing of money as the currency for success or happiness.

Euston, we have a problem - social distancing

Meetings, quicker and cheaper

But there are difficult decisions that will need to be taken to safeguard some of the benefits of lockdown and to source the funding for the cost of furloughing the workforce, cancelling business rates and paying for the health and care costs of the pandemic. There are already a number of academic papers evaluating the options with the Oxford Smith School.of Enterprise and the Environment bringing together many of the findings. Translating some of these findings into policies will require a far more rigorous analysis by academia but here are a some things I would start with; the aim being for greener, fairer and more equal outcomes.

1. Abandon the Heathrow expansion, air travel will be greatly reduced by travel restrictions, higher fares and customer confidence. Featherbedding the air industries according to the academic studies is the least sustainable of all policies.
2. Cancel HS2, there will be less long-distance commuting with home working and online meetings. What is needed is a railway network with modernised signalling, new rolling stock and a more rapid upgrading of lines in the north.
3. Increase the carbon tax on fuels for vehicles and planes to offset the reduced fuel tax revenues resulting from the reduction in travel. The collapse of oil prices should ensure that there will be minimal inflation costs.
4. Introduce an online shopping tax to give some protection to local shops
5. Create carbon-free vehicle only zones in town and city centres to consolidate the environmental benefits achieved during lockdown.
6. Reduce journey to work peaks by encouraging 4-day working weeks.
7. Re-introduce renewable energy subsidies to revive investment in sustainable technologies.
8. Legislate for a living wage and workers rights including holiday and sick pay.
9. Engineer a more progressive tax regime to address the inequalities that have been magnified by the COVID crisis
10. Protect local and UK businesses from acquisition by overseas corporations and hedge funds at meltdown prices during the pending economic recession.

I am sure that Michael Gove and the rest of the mythical ministers responsible for government would find reason to dismiss all of these suggestions, which would be an endorsement in itself.

Gargunnock Hills

Gargunnock Hills on left

Wednesday 6 May 2020

Thornhill to Ballochleam by bike, return     22 kilometres

Ballochleam to Gargunnock Hills walk       11 kilometres

It was the best day of the year so far and too good for gardening. The Gargunnock hills are visible from the house although too distant for even a long walk. I took the bike, crossing the carse to the A811. There was a significant increase in the traffic on the roads from my previous cycle rides in recent weeks, obviously there was less staying at home and a lot more people exercising their vehicles. The road from the Inch of Leckie to Fintry is the best of rural routes, climbing steadily alongside the Boquan Burn that is deeply incised into the soft red sandstone and hosts a beautiful mixed woodland that echoed with birdsong. It was a hard pedal to Ballochleam where the track to the Gargunnock Hills begins.

I ditched the bike and began the 3 kilometre walk up to the Spout of Ballochleam. The gorse was at its most decorative and the fields full of lambs, buzzards were patrolling the cloudless skies. I briefly thought about climbing more directly to Lees Hill but Standmilane Craig looked difficult to penetrate and why torture myself with a steep slog up through newly planted forest to save 3 kilometres when I could follow a path to the summit.

From the Spout of Ballochleam a gravel track heads south east towards the Earlsburn Wind Farm and after 300 metres a grass spur heads north to Lees Hill. The views north were sparklingly clear and the bird life was in full flutter. Every few minutes there was a bang like gunfire but there was nobody about. I thought at first it may be the distant wind turbines starting up in the gentle breeze but it was too close. Whether it was a recorded noise to keep the birds away from the wind turbines I am not sure but the noise seemed to emanate from a position on the moorland about 500 metres south of Lees Hill. Veering from the path to establish what was the source of the sound was not an option in lockdown. I continued north eastward from Lees Hill until the track began to peter out before stopping for some drink and to admire the views towards the mountains to the north and west.

The return was by the same route and as I descended the track from the Spout of Ballochleam a mountain biker was pedalling up the track.  We had a five minute conversation. It was friendly and respectful, similar to all other conversations that I have had in the period of lockdown. We kept a good distance apart, shared our thoughts on what was happening, appreciated  the peace and calmness that prevailed and talked of the positive vibes of living in such a tranquil and beautiful environment. He was a joiner who normally lived in Glasgow but was staying with his parents during the lockdown. He had never had the chance to explore the area in such depth before and was considering moving out of the  city once this was over.

I reached the bike and there was no need to pedal as I descended the 4 kilometres back to the main road. During the mile or so back to the roundabout I was passed by over 40 vehicles travelling at speed, Nicola's message to only make essential journeys had been lost in the translation of the word "essential". There again it had taken me a lot longer than an hour for my daily exercise and I was not sure whether I could carry forward my unused exercise allowance from a couple of days in the previous week. The guidelines on lockdown are capable of many interpretations but the key ones to my mind are to stay local and observe social distancing if by chance you do pass anyone or engage in conversation.

Road above Boquhan Glen

Boquhan Bridge

Track to Ballochleam, Lees Hill beyond

Earlburn Wind Farm

Looking north from Lees Hill

Ballochleam skyline

Easter Glinns, Ben Ledi and Ben Vorlich

Snow on Stob Binnein and Ben More

Back to the bike

Running or is that Jogging Again

Ben Ledi and Highland cow

The last couple of years has seen my running collapse from 50miles a month to averaging only 3 or 4 runs per month and this dropped even further this year with only a handful of runs before and during lockdown. There are several reasons, fewer off road routes in the immediate vicinity of the new house, sore feet, back ache from too much heavy garden work, and just the slowness that comes with age.

I have managed to walk and cycle most days during lockdown including several excursions up local hills but until yesterday I had not found the motivation to run. I had to visit the pharmacy in Aberfoyle so took the opportunity to take my daily exercise round one of my old regular routes, about eight kilometres. It was a slow start but after a mile or so I found a comfortable pace and kept going without too much difficulty. It lifted my spirits to such an extent that I was up early today to run an easy 4 kilometres along local track in the clear morning light. Even such a modest outing sharpens the appetite and the mind but do I have the determination to keep going?

The Goodie Water

Agricultural views

The track to Moss-side